Like Magnets
by Fleur de Anemone
Summary: Sakura can't take the stress of being a shinobi any more. [SasuSaku]


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.  
**Aforenotes: **Here's a quick synopsis: Sakura is 18 years old, and she's a jounin. Sasuke is also 18, but he's an ANBU. All done. Fanfic time.  
**Important note: **This is subject to change, because I think Sasuke and Sakura are a little out of character, so I may fix that and replace it later.

**Like Magnets  
****By Fleur de Anemone**

_I know I could be mistaken,  
__But my heart is broken,  
__I could not redirect my feelings.  
-_Utada Hikaru, _Exodus '04_

Her bare feet slapped the wet cobblestones of Old Kanameishi Drive, the rain pouring down all around her, pounding the ground, pounding her head. Her purpose, unforgotten, her destination, unknown.

The icy rain washed away her tears as they fell, creating tiny trails of mascara. This gave her an air of sorrow and tragedy, portraying her feelings in a way she did not want.

She wheeled around the Ichiraku Noodle Shop, still well in the old district of Konoha. But instead of dashing down King Boulevard, she ran straight, down the alley between Rocco's and Shanrika's, over the dumpster, over the garbage cans, over the bushes, into the forest. Weaving around trees, she winced as branches scored her face and roots cut into her bare feet.

Haruno Sakura cleared the tree trunk in one bound, speeding up her pace as she wept bitterly into the rain. She couldn't take it anymore. No more fights. No more deaths. No more training.

No more Haruno Sakura, Team Seven, Konohagakure Jounin Kunoichi.

She vaulted over the small creek and slowed to a stop. There, by the water, covered with raindrops and glistening, was a lacquered rosewood bench.

Whether by fate or by luck, Sakura's feet were tired and she needed a rest. She sat on the bench, but put her face in her hands, hiding her grief from Mother Nature. She curled her legs beneath her, and hugged them, switching from her hands and burying her face into her knees.

"What are you doing out so late at night, Sakura?"

Sakura's head snapped up as her jade orbs flashed to the side. Uchiha Sasuke, child prodigy, sat down next to her, resting his cheek on his fist and his elbow on his knee. He turned his head to look at her and shrugged. "Are you crying? I can't really tell."

"No, I'm not _crying_." Sakura hissed, swiping a hand across her face in a vain attempt to wipe away her mascara. God damnit, how hard was it to get mascara off before bed? "I'm just sitting here. Got it? Go away! I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

"You _were_ crying."

"I WAS NOT!"

"You were." Sasuke's eyes swirled red as he added, "I can see the tears welling up and sliding down."

Sakura's hands flopped into her lap as she stared at the black water of the creek. "Alright. I was crying. But it's none of your business why."

"Whatever."

Sakura wanted to leave. Sasuke being there just made her feel more depressed than ever. But with Sasuke to her right and an enormous tree to her left, there was no escape.

She glared at him. "Go _away_, your presence just makes me more depressed. You'd think after years of you turning me down would make me cry, anyway."

"You'd have cried years ago if that's what you're depressed about."

"SHUT UP!" Sakura shrieked. She gripped the bench to get better leverage as her hand swung across her chest, aiming to strike him. Sasuke caught her hand with his right, intertwining their fingers in an instant and squeezing Sakura's palm. Sakura winced, but glared holes into him, grinding her teeth as she did.

"Don't try to hit me, it won't work."

Sakura sneered and turned to the water. "I don't care. Go away, or I'll scream 'rapist' as loud as I can."

"You know, a few years ago, you used to be attracted to me like a magnet. But it seems the magnets have been reversed."

"I'm warning you, Sasuke..."

"Magnetism is an energy. It is drawn together to others of its own kind. Just like people."

"Sasuke, you're weirding me out. Go away."

"Like people, energy spends it existance trying to find more of it's own kind to merge with and become one. It always knows when it's close. It gets closer... And closer... And closer... And then it finds what it had been seeking that whole time..."

Sakura didn't notice it, but Sasuke had been leaning closer and closer as he spoke. Soon, she could feel his breath, though the rain, on her cheek. Her eyes widened considerably as she turned her head. "Sasuke, what--"

And they became one.


End file.
